Garlock parent EnPro cuts liability claims estimate, shares soar

EnPro Industries Inc.’s shares hit a 52-week high after the company said claims against its Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC in an asbestos liability trial may be half of its previous estimates.

Shares of EnPro (NYSE: NPO) midday were trading at $56.92, up more than 7 percent from Tuesday’s close of $53.04.

The Charlotte, NC-based parent company late Tuesday said in a pre-trial brief that an expert it hired puts the net present value of Garlock’s expected aggregate legal liability at no more than $125 million, which is less than half of the $270 million proposed in a plan of reorganization filed by Garlock in late 2011. Garlock is located in Palmyra, Wayne County.

In 2010, Garlock filed a voluntary petition to establish a trust to resolve all current and future asbestos claims under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.

An estimation trial on the issue is scheduled to begin July 22 at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte.